Barry Ord Clarke has written, Co written and contributed to more than 30 books about fly tying
Galten Farm A historic fishing destination with a touch of Victorian flair. Sometimes things just fall into place perfectly and this is what happened right from the start when Barry and I made our entry to Galten farm … Continue reading Smith Seter & Galten Gård – fly fishing in Norway.
Streamers and lures that have a ‘black’ base colour probably catch more fish than any other colour! The Ace of spades was designed by UK still water angler Dave Collyer in the early 1970’s. Normally fished deep and slow on … Continue reading Ace of Spades streamer
One of the true classic trout flies and without doubt the best known from the Wulff series, first tied by Lee Wulff in the early 1930’s. This version is a little unusual as its tied with a parachute hackle. Hook: … Continue reading Parachute Royal Wulff
This is my portrait of the late great Norwegian fly tyer, Erling Sand at his tying bench in his fly shop. He spent many hours each day tying flies to order, and building up his shop stock, if you look … Continue reading Verre enn minken – Worse than a mink!
One of the first nymphs I ever tied and fished with. Although this has the appearance of a modern nymph it was first tied back in the early 1930’s by Don Martinez from California. A great generic nymph that has … Continue reading The Black Martinez nymph
As a little project I’m going to tie up a set of old Norwegian dry fly patterns that have almost been forgotten, but I’m having problems with finding the original recipes. As with the featured image above of ‘The Kaktus’ … Continue reading Traditional Norwegian trout patterns
An extremely quick and easy tie for an extremely effective midge pattern. A great fishing pattern that only requires the most basic of tying skills. Hook: Mustad C49S # 16-26 Tying thread: Sheer brown 14/0 Rib: Cobweb 8/0 white tying … Continue reading The Top secret midge
When the egg layers are active your waders can be a popular place to deposit the eggs! Its that time of year when an egg laying caddis is an essential addition to your fly box! Heres an easy pattern that … Continue reading Fly Tying the Egg laying caddis
The scruffy squirrel nymph is a great all rounder and a good alternative to a hares ear. The combination of squirrel dubbing and a rib of Ultra lace tubing makes a very buggy morsel that ticks all the boxes for … Continue reading Fly Tying the Scruffy Squirrel nymph
A great little caddis pattern that has a few nice techniques. The super buoyant combination of CDC and deer hair make this pattern almost un-sinkable. Hook: Mustad R43 # 12 Tying thread: Petitjean SS Olive Abdomen: Fluorescent Green CDC hackle … Continue reading Tying the Midsummer Caddis
An extremely quick and easy, yet effective pattern that can be mastered by tyers of all levels. This Ugly or scruffy mayfly dun includes a few interesting techniques for making dubbing and applying it. Don’t be fooled by it’s simplicity, … Continue reading Tying the Ugly May
Yet another quick and simple, but effective pattern, that requires only basic skills and materials. Fish it not only as a generic Coleoptera but also as something thats just buggy! Hook: Mustad R30 # 12 Tying thread: Sheer 14/0 Claret … Continue reading Brown & Peacock Beetle
A very quick and easy variant of the classic pheasant tail nymph, using only a sparse amount of materials. One for the box in various sizes and colours. Hook: Mustad R 74 # 10 Tying thread: Sheer 14/0 Tail: Pheasant … Continue reading Magic Glass Pheasant tail
A no hackle emerger that gives a very nice presentation of a hatching mayfly. An interesting technique that uses Para post yarn for the emerging wing and hackle. If you don’t have the Booby eyes, you can also use a … Continue reading Clarke’s No Hackle Emerger
A damsel nymph tied in the Montana nymph style. A great pattern, especially for still waters and as a stalking bug. Tie it in your favorite colours and the more weight you add at the head the more aggressive the … Continue reading Fly Tying a Montana Damsel
A truly effective pattern for when those hatches of small caddis are underway, or even just fished as a all round attractor. Simple and quick pattern that pushes all the buttons! Hook: Mustad R30 # 12-18 Tying thread: Sheer 14/0 … Continue reading Tying the X-Factor Caddis
Another easy nymph technique for a long slender nymph body style that with a little adjusting will work for most larger mayfly nymphs. Hook: Mustad R75 # 10 Tying thread: UTC 70 Flou Green & Sheer 14/0 Brown Tail: … Continue reading Ultra Lace Mayfly nymph